Job title: Housing Support Officer
Salary: C3 £32,061 - £33,699
Hours: 37 hours
Contract: Permanent
Location: Merrion House / Any Housing Office in Leeds
As a Housing Support Officer you will thrive on helping others and being part of a team that helps vulnerable people maintain their tenancies and reduces risk of homelessness.
It not about doing things to or for people, it about supporting them to develop their skills and knowledge, enabling them to access the sources of help and advice they need to sustain independent living.
Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions.
About you
As a Housing Support Officer, you will bring to the role:
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Knowledge of the role of Council Housing Service and responsibilities in managing homes and communities and awareness of current housing issues.
- Knowledge of Councils allocations and Lettings procedures
- Be able to communicate effectively with customers, colleagues, partner agencies and elected members
- Able to show empathy, act tactfully and sympathetically with customers over a range of issues
- Experience of working in a busy customer focused team
About the role
As our next Housing Support Officer, you will join a large diverse team with a variety of experience and knowledge of housing and support work. It a team that thrives on supporting each other wellbeing as well as sharing the workload and ideas.
The role is integral to our Housing Support Team which is part of Leeds Housing Options and specialises in supporting people in Leeds City Council accommodation. The team covers every area in the city and supports local teams of Housing Officers who manage the council housing stock and provide the bulk of support referrals received by the team.
You will also work with staff from partner agencies who deliver a variety of support services to our tenants. You will have a key role in forging the links between tenants, housing management and support services. Leeds Housing Options key function is to prevent homelessness, and you will play an important part in this teams efforts to prevent tenancy failure and resulting homelessness.
What we offer you
We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:
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a competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays
- membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions
- flexible and hybrid working arrangements subject to service requirements
- a clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities · a range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further
How to apply
Please complete the online application form.
Read our guidance for further advice on completing your application.
If you have any queries or would like an informal chat about the role please contact Narinda Clayton Best Senior Housing Advisor Call 0113 378 2643 or email
[email protected].
Job Description
Purpose of the job:
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To provide quality housing management services to meet the needs of customers, making a positive contribution to the social and physical environment of the area managed.
- Customer focused and motivated to give the best possible service in the communities we serve.
- To deliver an efficient customer focused service, ensuring maximum performance levels and continuous improvements in all areas of housing management services.
Principal Responsibilities:
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To take ownership and responsibility for the social and physical environment of a defined geographical service area.
- To ensure that the estate environment is maintained to a high standard.
- To be responsible for the achievement of performance targets within a defined geographical area.
- To be responsible for maximising various income streams to the authority and our tenants
- To deal with issues of anti-social behaviour, nuisance and work with other agencies to help create safe and sustainable communities.
- To enforce tenancy conditions where appropriate.
- Supervise and manage staff as required
- Provide appropriate advice and support to customers.
- To ensure the Councils safeguarding procedures are followed where appropriate.
- To actively develop and promote tenant engagement and involvement through a variety of different approaches.
- To work with partner services, elected members and local communities to deliver and develop services and improvements in a defined area.
- To work within Council policies and procedures including data protection and financial regulations.
- To ensure the Council’s health and safety policies and legal requirements are adhered to.
- To contribute to the development, review and improvement of policies and strategies in line with current legislation and best practice.
- To support the achievement of equality and diversity in both employment and service delivery including the promotion of equality of opportunity
- Promote and deliver the priorities, values and objectives of Leeds City Council at all times
Qualifications
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We promote diversity and want a workforce that reflects the population of Leeds. Prior to the Interview we will request your References. Failure to obtain both references may result in your interview being withdrawn.
PERSONAL SPECIFICATION ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS: It is essential that the Candidate should be able to demonstrate the following criteria for the post within the context of the specific role duties and responsibilities: Candidates will only be shortlisted for interview if they can demonstrate on the application form that they meet all the essential requirements.
Method of Assessment will be through one or more of the following Application Form, Test, Interview or Certificate.
Qualifications and Knowledge
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Knowledge of the role of the Council Housing Service and its responsibilities in managing homes and communities.
- Knowledge of current housing issues, legislation, policies and local strategies and initiatives.
- Awareness of customer engagement opportunities, enabling customers to help design and evaluate services.
- A good understanding of equality issues in the day to day delivery of services.
- Knowledge of the Council’s Allocations and Lettings procedures.
- Knowledge of effective income management practices.
- Knowledge of effective anti-social behaviour remedies and best practice.
- Awareness of how social and environmental conditions affect quality of life.
Specific Skills and Competencies
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To be able to communicate effectively with customers, colleagues, elected members and all other partners
- Able to supervise and manage colleagues
- Able to use a wide range of communication tools appropriate to the customers preferred method.
- Able to show empathy, act tactfully and sympathetically with customers over a range of issues
- Able to manage competing demands and priorities to meet deadlines.
- Able to make objective decisions in the interests of achieving local priorities.
- Able to input, maintain and retrieve information accurately from a variety of sources.
- Able to objectively investigate and clearly report (in writing or verbally) on a range of issues.
- To work within budgets.
- Able to adapt behaviours to achieve positive outcomes
Experience
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Experience of working with other agencies to achieve positive outcomes for customers.
- Experience of taking and responding to a broad range of customer enquiries.
- Experience of the working with the public.
- Experience of working to deadlines and adapting to competing priorities
- Experience of working in a busy customer focused team.
- Experience of working with a range of computer software packages including Microsoft Office
Behavioural and other Characteristics required
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Understand and embrace Leeds City Council Values and Behaviours and codes of conduct.
- Committed to continuous improvement in all areas and work towards delivering the Best City Ambition of Health & Wellbeing, Inclusive Growth and Zero Carbon
- Able to understand and observe Leeds City Council equality and diversity policies.
- Carry out all duties having regard to an employee’s responsibility under Health and Safety Policies.
- Willingness to actively participate in training and development activities.
- Flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required commensurate to grade.
- Participate in appraisal, training, and development activities.
- Be aware of and comply with Leeds City Council policies and procedures.
- Be aware of and support difference ensuring equality for all, working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding, equality & diversity.
- Recognise and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment, victimisation, and any form of abuse, reporting any concerns to the appropriate person.
- The Council has adopted a flexibility protocol and the role will be expected to work within these parameters.
PERSONAL SPECIFICATION DESIRABLE REQUIREMENTS: It is desirable that the Candidate should be able to demonstrate the following criteria for the post within the context of the specific role duties and responsibilities: Candidates are not required to meet all the Desirable requirements however these may be used to distinguish between acceptable candidates.
Experience
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Experience of supervising colleagues
- Experience of playing a key role within a community
